Political twist by farmers to my appeal to call off protests in Punjab is unfortunate: Capt Amarinder

Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, September 14

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Tuesday said it was unfortunate that the farmers agitating against the black farm laws had given a political twist to his remarks instead of understanding the pain and misery caused to the people on account of their protests in the state, which were quite uncalled for, given his government’s continued support to them.

Reacting to Samyukt Kisan Morcha’s criticism of the remarks he had made yesterday on the issue, the chief minister lamented that despite his government’s unequivocal support to their cause, the farmers had misinterpreted his appeal and had, instead, tried to link it with the upcoming assembly elections in Punjab.

His government, as well as the people of Punjab, had always stood with the farmers on the issue of the farm laws, and it was sad that they were now suffering due to the continued protests of the farming community across the state, he added.

The chief minister asserted that there was no question of trying to split the farmers of Punjab and Haryana, all of whom were equal victims of the apathy of the BJP-led governments at the Centre and in the neighbouring state.

“My government, in contrast, has not only firmly supported the farmers’ fight against the farm laws but had even brought in amendment Bills in the Vidhan Sabha to mitigate their adverse impact,” he pointed out, adding that those Bills had, unfortunately, not been forwarded by the Governor to the President for assent.

Pointing out that the farmers’ fight was against the BJP, which was solely responsible for thrusting the anti-farmer legislations on Punjab and other states, Capt Amarinder said inconveniencing the people of Punjab was not justified in the circumstances.

He rejected the Morcha’s claims that there was no paralysis of the government in Punjab due to the farmers’ protests, pointing out that it was not the Adanis or the Ambanis whose interests were being hurt by such protests but the common people of the state, as well as its economy.

The Adanis’ assets in Punjab were a miniscule 0.8% of their total assets, and the presence of the Reliance Group stood at a nominal 0.1%, the chief minister observed, adding that the losses caused to these industries due to the farmers’ unrest in the state were too minor to be of any serious concern to them.

“It is the people of Punjab who are suffering due to the disruption of services as a result of the protests,” he said.

Continued protests in Punjab will push industry out of the state, which would have a severe impact on the economy, which his government was still trying to revive from the crisis into which the previous SAD-BJP government had pushed it, said the chief minister.

Already, the situation was becoming serious on the grain storage and procurement front due to the agitation, with lifting of the stocks by the FCI and state agencies getting obstructed, he said.

With the wheat stocks having already completed four years of storage, the unused capacity was getting ruined, while also resulting in financial burden on the public exchequer due to payment of guaranteed charges to the silo owners as per agreements of hiring, said Capt Amarinder, disclosing that the stocks lying in the FCI Adani silio at Moga alone was worth Rs 480 crore.

All the movement of wheat stocks from FCI Adani silo, Moga and FCI silo, Kotkapura is halted due to the on-going farmers protest against the farm laws, whereas, 1,60,855 MT of wheat stocks of previous crop years stored in the Adani silo, Moga by FCI needs to be liquidated on priority, as deterioration of these stocks may lead to losses to the public exchequer. The value of stocks in Moga Adani silos is approximately Rs 480 crores.

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